Trent Lott

(b. Grenada County, Mississippi, 9 Oct. 1941) US; member of the US House of Representatives 1972 – 88, US Senator 1988 –   Educated at the University of Mississippi and at Mississippi Law School, Lott practised law and worked for Democratic Congressman William Colmer between 1968 and 1972. In 1972 he was elected to Colmer's seat in the House of Representatives as a Republican and was elected Republican whip in 1980. Lott became a key figure in Republican politics in the 1980s, and organized the Convention platform committees at the Republican conventions of 1984 and 1988, although in 1988 he supported Jack Kemp's abortive presidential bid rather than the candidacy of George Bush.

Lott successfully ran for the Senate in 1988. Once in the Senate he became a natural candidate for Republican leadership positions. Following the 1992 elections, he was elected Republican conference secretary. In 1994, Lott became Senate Republican whip. When in June 1996 Robert Dole resigned from the Senate majority leadership to concentrate on his presidential campaign, Lott was elected Republican leader. A tax-cutting and cultural conservative by instinct, Lott nevertheless tempered his partisanship and showed an early ability to negotiate both within his own party and with Democrats. There had been a general feeling that the Senate had become grid-locked and it was hoped that Lott would be able to improve its workings by cultivating a more open leadership style and by concentrating on the legislative business rather than campaigning. Lott's election to the post of Senate majority leader also reduced the ideological distance between the Republican leadership in the Senate and the House and put both leadership positions firmly in the hands of conservatives.

Trent Lott (born 1941) has served in the United States government for over three decades. He was elected to both houses of the United States congress and served subsequent terms as a member from the state of Mississippi.

A U.S. Senator from Mississippi, Trent Lott is a major political figure in the nation's capitol. He first came to Washington as a Democratic congressional aide in the early 1960s. Known for his conservative views, however, Lott served as a Republican in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Lott was recognized for his leadership skills in Congress and was able to organize support for important issues among both Republicans and Democrats. Paul Weyrich, a radio news commentator, once described Lott "as a wily Southerner. He likes to make deals, but sometimes, when he feels a great principle is at stake, he can be tough as nails." A skillful politician, the U.S. Senator from Mississippi was elected by fellow senators as Senate Majority Leader on December 3, 1996.

Born on October 9, 1941, in Grenada County, Mississippi, Chester Trent Lott, moved with his family to the costal town of Pascagoula. As an only child, Trent received the full attention and love of his parents. His father, Chester, worked as a shipyard worker who later tried his hand in the furniture business. In a U.S. News & World Report interview with Gloria Borger, Lott described his father as "handsome and outgoing, and I always thought he might actually run for office someday."

Lott's mother, Iona, was a schoolteacher and bookkeeper. Iona Lott recalled to Time contributor Dan Goodgame, "People used to say an only child would be spoiled and selfish. And I was determined he wouldn't be that way." She insisted that he share everything, even the pony she and Lott's father gave him before he was ten. Lott was exposed to politics at any early age, as one grandfather was a justice of the peace, and the other grandfather a county supervisor. Lott also had an uncle who was a tax assessor and a state senator.

The family moved to Pascagoula when Lott was in the seventh grade. He adapted to the new location quickly and wasn't afraid to participate in a wide range of activities. During his school years, he played tuba in the band and was a member of the drama club. He also worked part-time at a local rootbeer stand. Among his classmates, Lott was popular and well-respected. In high school, he was elected president of the drama club, president of the student body, homecoming king, most popular, most likely to succeed, and most polite. Goodgame quoted a high school friend who recalled that Lott found time for everyone "from shy girls to the guys we would describe these days as gang members."

With money earned from summer jobs and support from his parents, Lott entered the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in the fall of 1959. While at Ole Miss, Lott had his first real experience at politics. His freshman year, he pledged the Sigma Nu social fraternity. While he participated in Sigma Nu activities, Lott also made many friends among members of other fraternities and independent student groups. Eventually, he was elected as president of both Sigma Nu and the university's interfraternity council. Cheerleaders at Ole Miss were also elected positions, and running for cheerleader provided Lott another opportunity to gain political skills in forming political blocks, cutting deals and doing door-to-door precinct work.

No African American students attended the University of Mississippi when Lott first entered the school. During Lott's senior year, on September 30, 1962, Air Force veteran James Meredith, protected by armed U.S. marshals, enrolled at Ole Miss. The small group was confronted by rock-throwing students and non-student protestors in violent demonstrations. By the time the violence ended, two people had been killed and many others injured and arrested. Lott worked to keep Sigma Nu fraternity members from taking part. At the same time, he used his campus influence to call for peaceful campus integration. In National Review, Rich Lowry quoted Lott as saying, "Yes, you could say that I favored segregation then. The main thing was, I felt the Federal Government had no business sending in troops to tell the state what to do."

Graduating with a bachelor's degree in Public Administration in the spring of 1963, Lott enrolled in the Ole Miss law school. He subsidized his graduate education with a federal student loan and also obtained a job with the university's recruitment office. Later, he was able to work for the alumni association as a fund raiser, a position that enabled him to make valuable political connections throughout his native state.

While Lott attended law school, the Vietnam War was expanding in scope and troop commitments. Like other college students Lott received a student deferment from the draft. By the time he graduated from law school in 1967 Lott had married Patricia (Tricia) Thompson of Pascagoula and, under Selective Service rules, obtained a hardship exemption due to the birth of their first child, also named Chester.

After graduating from the Ole Miss law school, Lott and his family returned to Pascagoula. For a brief period Lott worked in a private law firm, leaving after less than a year when he was offered a top staff job by Congressman William M. Colmer, a Mississippi Democrat. The Lott family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1968. Tricia Lott explained to Lowry that the family went to Washington "to stay a couple of years and see if we liked it." Political skills learned at Ole Miss in organizing and influencing people earned Lott a reputation as an effective and able congressional aide.

Elected to House of Representatives

When Congressman Colmer announced his retirement from the House of Representatives in 1972, Lott announced his candidacy as a Republican to seek the vacant office. Lott was able to win Colmer's endorsement and support. According to Lowry, Lott explained his party switch by vowing to "fight against the ever increasing efforts of the so-called liberals to concentrate more power in the government in Washington." Lott had a well-organized and tireless campaign. With the aid of the landslide re-election of President Richard Nixon he was able to win the House seat with a vote margin of 55 percent.

Arriving in Washington as a freshman Representative, Lott was appointed to membership on the House Judiciary Committee. As the youngest member of this committee Lott became involved in the 1974 hearings to impeach President Nixon. The president had been implicated in the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at an office complex called Watergate. After the President released tape recordings and transcripts indicating his involvement and a cover-up of the crime, Lott reversed his position as a staunch supporter and joined others in the call for the President's resignation, which occurred less than a week later.

Although Lott had vowed to fight against increased government controls from his seat in the House, he actually supported more federal spending for entitlement programs, farm subsidies, public works projects, and the military. During his 16-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Lott was never credited with authoring any major legislation. However, he won praise for his work on tax and budget reform. He was an active member of the House, and served on the powerful House Rules Committee from 1975 to 1989. With the support of his fellow Representatives, Lott was elected and served as Minority Whip from 1981-89. As Minority Whip, he was the second ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. He was also named chair of the Republican National Convention's platform committees in 1980 and 1989. Lott, however, did not always support the legislative agenda of his political party. When President Reagan proposed a tax reform bill in 1985, Lott used his political power as Minority Whip to oppose the measure. Two years later, Lott joined with Democrats to override a presidential veto of a highway spending bill which included several highway projects in his home district.

Joined United States Senate

When the Mississippi Democratic Senator, John Stennis, retired in 1988, Lott announced that he would seek the vacant Senate seat. He won the Senate position with a 54 percent majority. As a Senator, Lott continued to focus his political talents on building coalitions and was appointed as a member of the Ethics Committee. He was later appointed as a member of the powerful Senate Budget Committee. Continuing his climb through the ranks of the Senate, Lott was elected as the secretary of the Senate Republican Conference in 1992. In 1994 he won the election for Senate Majority Whip by a one vote margin, making him the first person to be elected Whip in both houses of Congress.

Lott's experiences as House Minority Whip helped him to establish a highly-organized whip system in the Senate. Individual members of Congress were drafted to organize and track colleagues on a regional basis. These regional whips provided daily briefing to Lott on crucial votes. One of the regional whips was also tasked to be on the Senate floor at all times. Lott's ability to work with both parties helped to end what was described in the popular press as budget gridlock. During 1997 budget negotiations, Richard Stevenson, writing in the New York Times, described him as "Trent Lott the bad cop" and as "Trent Lott the good cop." Stevenson reported that Lott's message to both parties was, "I'm going to urge that we not waste time talking about what we disagree on. Let's see where we can find some commonality, where we can begin to come up with agreements that will help the quality of life for all Americans." When the Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole, announced his plans to retire from the Senate in order to run for President, Lott used his well-controlled whip organization to campaign for the vacant Majority Leader position. His organizational and political skills were rewarded, and he was elected Senate Majority Leader on June 13, 1996.

Campaign financing became the focus of national attention after the re-election of President Clinton in 1996. With reports of improper fund-raising activities by the Democrats, many Republicans called for in-depth investigations of campaign practices. While some called for major campaign reforms, Lott had other views. In an interview with New York Times contributor Katharine Seelye, Lott described his position on this issue, commenting that "I support people being involved in the political process….I think for them to have the opportunity to do that is the American way."

The Senator's stance on other major issues facing the nation were widely known. He articulated his views on numerous radio and television interview shows. He also took advantage of the electronic media and maintained an internet home page stating his position on key political and national issues. In regards to a balanced national budget, Lott declared, "I understand the concerns regarding the Balanced Budget Amendment and want to assure you that I do not take amending our Constitution lightly. However, having watched many futile attempts to reduce the deficit through legislation, I am convinced that an amendment to our Constitution is necessary." Lott also described his position concerning prayer in public schools on this site: "I have consistently advocated strong legislative action in support of the rights of students who wish to participate in voluntary prayer in their schools."

Lott's personal beliefs reflect those of his constituency, and his election to both houses of Congress show his successful representation of the people in his home district and home state. In Congress, his ability to mobilize his fellow Representatives and Senators in support of key legislation was recognized with prominent positions in both houses-as Minority Whip in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate as Majority Whip and later Senate Majority Leader. Lott has the distinction of being the first Southerner to be House Minority Whip and the first person to be elected Whip in both houses of Congress.

Further Reading

National Review, June 30, 1997, pp. 20-23.

New York Times, February 8, 1997; February 21, 1997.

Time, March 10, 1997, pp. 38-39.

U.S. News & World Report, February 24, 1997, pp. 22-24.

Direct Line with Paul Weyrich (live broadcast on radio station KIUSA), December 3, 1996.

Issue Positions,http://www.senate.gov (November 10, 1997).

• Born: Oct. 9, 1941, Grenada, Miss.
• Political Party: Republican
• Representative from Mississippi: 1973–89
• Senator from Mississippi: 1989–
• House minority whip: 1981–89
• Senate majority whip: 1995–96
• Senate majority leader: 1996–

As a Republican from Mississippi, Trent Lott represented the political upheaval of the once “Solid South.” From the 1870s until the 1970s, practically all southern senators and representatives had been Democrats. Lott himself first went to Washington as the administrative assistant to a Democrat, Representative William Colmer. When Colmer retired, Lott was elected to succeed him—as a Republican. It was the beginning of a trend that saw many southerners change party allegiance and the political base of the Republican party shift from the North to the South.

As a congressman, Lott aligned himself with a group of conservative House members known as the “Conservative Opportunity Society,” led by Georgia Representative Newt Gingrich. Seeking to return the Republicans to the majority after decades in the minority, the young conservatives pursued more aggressive legislative tactics than their party' moderate leadership did. They provoked frequent confrontations with the majority party over policy and procedure. Among this group of mavericks, Lott was the first to move into his party's leadership by becoming the minority whip.

In 1988 Lott ran for the Senate and within a few years moved into its leadership as well. He served first as whip and then as majority leader. Since the rules of the Senate give more voice to the minority than the rules of the House, Lott needed to pursue different tactics as a Senate leader. “A Senate majority leader has to be a legislator, moderator, partisan activist, consensus builder, and traffic cop,” he commented, “—often all at the same time.” Although still strongly conservative in outlook, he worked with his Democratic counterparts to accommodate senators of all views.

A skilled legislative tactician, Lott steered the Senate through the emotional impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999. Rather than run the trial as a partisan affair, Lott convened an extraordinary joint conference of all 100 Republican and

Democratic senators. They met in the Old Senate Chamber to discuss behind closed doorsed the fairest way to conduct the trial. By the time they had emerged, the senators had voted unanimously for a set of procedures, a testament to Majority Leader Lott's grasp of how the often cumbersome Senate could best operate.

Trent Lott
United States Senator from Mississippi
In office January 3, 1989 – December 18, 2007
Preceded by	John Stennis
Succeeded by	Roger Wicker
21st United States Senate Majority Leader
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Preceded by	Tom Daschle
Succeeded by	Tom Daschle
19th United States Senate Majority Leader
In office June 12, 1996 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Bob Dole
Succeeded by	Tom Daschle
16th & 18th United States Senate Minority Leader
In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001 June 6, 2001–January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Tom Daschle
Succeeded by	Tom Daschle
25th United States Senate Majority Whip
In office January 3, 1995 – June 12, 1996
Preceded by	Wendell Ford
Succeeded by	Don Nickles
24th United States Senate Minority Whip
In office January 4, 2007 – December 18, 2007
Preceded by	Dick Durbin
Succeeded by	Jon Kyl
14th United States House of Representatives Minority Whip
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	Robert H. Michel
Succeeded by	Dick Cheney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 5th district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	William M. Colmer
Succeeded by	Larkin I. Smith
Born	October 9, 1941 (1941-10-09) (age 68) Grenada, Mississippi
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Patricia Thompson Lott
Children	Chester Trent Lott, Jr. Tyler Lott
Residence	Pascagoula, Mississippi
Alma mater	University of Mississippi

Chester Trent Lott, Sr. (born October 9, 1941 in Grenada, Mississippi) is a former United States Senator from Mississippi. He has served in numerous leadership positions in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, including House Minority Whip, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and Senate Minority Whip. ^[1]

On December 20, 2002, after significant controversy following what were viewed as racist comments regarding Strom Thurmond's presidential candidacy, Lott resigned as Senate Minority Leader in the Senate. In December 2007, he resigned from the Senate entirely and became a Washington-based lobbyist. Lott's resignation from the Senate came just two days before the federal indictment of his brother-in-law, trial lawyer Richard Scruggs.^[2] Scruggs eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a Mississippi judge by promising him a federal judgeship appointment using his influence over his brother-in-law. Lott ruled out any health concerns affecting his resignation.^[1][3] At a press conference on December 31, 2007, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour appointed Roger Wicker to fill temporarily the Senate seat vacated by Lott.^[4] On November 4, 2008, a special election Senate race was held to replace him. The election was won by Republican Roger Wicker.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 2.1 House of Representatives 2.2 United States Senate 2.2.1 2006 re-election campaign 2.2.2 Resignation 3 Controversies 3.1 Comments regarding homosexuality 3.2 Resignation from Senate leadership 3.3 Richard Scruggs 4 Author 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links 7.1 Articles

Early life

Lott was born in Grenada, Mississippi. His father, Chester Paul Lott, was a shipyard worker; his mother, Iona Watson, was a schoolteacher. He attended college at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in public administration in 1963 and a law degree in 1967. He served as a Field Representative for Ole Miss and was president of his fraternity, Sigma Nu. Lott was also an Ole Miss cheerleader, coincidentally on the same team with U.S. Senator Thad Cochran. He married Patricia Thompson on December 27, 1964. The couple has two children: Chester Trent "Chet" Lott, Jr., and Tyler Lott.

Political career

House of Representatives

Lott was raised as a Democrat. He served as administrative assistant to House Rules Committee chairman William M. Colmer, also of Pascagoula, from 1968 to 1972.

In 1972, Colmer, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, announced his retirement after 40 years in Congress. He endorsed Lott as his successor in Mississippi's 5th District, located in the state's southwestern tip, even though Lott ran as a Republican. Lott won handily.

Lott's party switch was part of a growing trend in the South. During the 1960s, cracks had begun to appear in the Democrats' "Solid South", as many whites, motivated in part by the national Democratic Party's stance on African American civil rights, began to switch parties. For example, 1964 Republican nominee Barry Goldwater carried Mississippi by winning an unheard-of 87 percent of the popular vote even as he was routed nationally.

Lott and his future Senate colleague, Thad Cochran (also elected to Congress that year), were only the second and third Republicans elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Lott's strong showing in the polls landed him on the powerful House Judiciary Committee as a freshman, where he voted against all three articles of impeachment drawn up against Richard Nixon during the committee's debate. After Nixon released the infamous "Smoking Gun" transcripts (which proved Nixon's involvement in the Watergate cover-up), however, Lott announced that he would vote to impeach Nixon when the articles came up for debate before the full House (as did the other Republicans who voted against impeachment in committee).

Sen. Trent Lott with Former Speaker of the House Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) at the 2004 Republican National Convention; both Lott and Gingrich provided consistent support to President George W. Bush.

Three months later, in November 1974, Lott and Cochran became the first Republicans re-elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction, in both cases by blowout margins. Lott was re-elected six more times without much difficulty, and even ran unopposed in 1978. He served as House Minority Whip (the second-ranking Republican in the House) from 1981 to 1989; he was the first Southern Republican to hold such a high leadership position.

United States Senate

Lott ran for the Senate in 1988, after 42-year incumbent John Stennis announced he would not run for another term. He defeated Democratic 4th District Congressman Wayne Dowdy by almost eight points. He has never faced another contest nearly that close. He was re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 2006 with no substantive Democratic opposition. He gave some thought to retirement for much of 2005, however, after Hurricane Katrina, he announced on January 17, 2006 that he would run for a fourth term.

He became Senate Majority Whip when the Republicans took control of the Senate in 1995, succeeding as Majority Leader in 1996 when Bob Dole resigned from the Senate to focus on his presidential campaign. As majority leader, Lott had a major role in the Senate trial following the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. After the House narrowly voted to impeach Clinton, Lott proceeded with the Senate trial in early 1999, despite criticisms that Republicans were far short of the two-thirds majority required under the Constitution to convict Clinton and remove him from office. He later agreed to a decision to suspend the proceedings after the Senate voted not to convict Clinton.

After the 2000 elections produced a 50-50 partisan split in the Senate, Vice President Al Gore's tie-breaking vote gave the Democrats the majority from January 3 to January 20, 2001, when George W. Bush took office and Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the majority once again. Later in 2001, he became Senate Minority Leader again after Vermont senator Jim Jeffords became an independent and caucused with the Democrats, allowing them to regain the majority. He was due to become majority leader again in early 2003 after Republican gains in the November 2002 elections. Shortly after the Strom Thurmond controversy, however (see below), he resigned from his leadership positions.

Since he lost the Majority Leader post, Lott was less visible on the national scene while breaking with some standard conservative positions. He battled with Bush over military base closures in his home state. He showed support for passenger rail initiatives, notably his 2006 bipartisan introduction, with Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, of legislation to provide 80 percent federal matching grants to intercity rail and guarantee adequate funding for Amtrak.^[5] On July 18, 2006, Lott voted with 19 Republican senators for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act to lift restrictions on federal funding for the research. On November 15, 2006 Lott regained a leadership position in the Senate, when he was named Minority Whip after defeating Lamar Alexander of Tennessee 24-23.^[6]

Senator John E. Sununu (R) of New Hampshire said, after Lott's election as Senate Minority Whip, "He understands the rules. He's a strong negotiator." Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) said he's "the smartest legislative politician I've ever met."^[7]

2006 re-election campaign

Main article: United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2006

Lott faced no Republican opposition in the race. State representative Erik R. Fleming placed first of four candidates in the June Democratic primary, but did not receive the 50 percent of the vote required to earn the party's nomination. He and second-place finisher Bill Bowlin faced off in a runoff on June 27, and Fleming won with 65% of the vote. Fleming, however, was not regarded as a serious opponent, and Lott handily defeated him with 64% of the vote.

Resignation

On November 26, 2007, Lott announced that he would resign his Senate seat by the end of 2007.^[3] According to CNN, his resignation was at least partly due to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which forbids lawmakers from lobbying for two years after leaving office. Those who leave by the end of 2007 are covered by the previous law, which demands a wait of only one year.^[1] In his resignation press conference, Lott said that the new law had no influence in his decision to resign.

Lott's resignation became effective at 11:30 p.m. on December 18, 2007.^[8] On January 7, 2008 it was announced that Lott and former Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, a Democrat, opened their lobbying firm about a block from the White House.^[9]

Controversies

Comments regarding homosexuality

In 1998, Lott caused some controversy in Congress when as a guest on the Armstrong Williams television show, he equated homosexuality to alcoholism, kleptomania and sex addiction. When Williams, a conservative talk show host, asked Lott whether homosexuality was a sin, Lott simply replied, "Yes, it is."^[10] Lott's stance against homosexuality was disconcerting to some members of the public, who argued that his views were discriminatory.^[11]

Resignation from Senate leadership

Tremendous political controversy ensued following remarks Lott made on December 5, 2002 at the 100th birthday party of Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Thurmond ran for President of the United States in 1948 on the Dixiecrat (or States' Rights) ticket. Lott said: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either."^[12]

Thurmond had based his presidential campaign largely on an explicit racial segregation platform. Lott had attracted controversy before in issues relating to civil rights. As a Congressman, he voted against renewal of the Voting Rights Act, voted against the continuation of the Civil Rights Act and opposed making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday.^[13] The Washington Post reported that Lott had made similar comments about Thurmond's candidacy in a 1980 rally.^[14] Lott gave an interview with Black Entertainment Television explaining himself and repudiating Thurmond's former views.^[15]

Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on December 20, 2002. Bill Frist of Tennessee was later elected to the leadership position. In the book Free Culture, Lawrence Lessig argues that Lott's resignation would not have occurred had it not been for the effect of Internet blogs. He says that though the story "disappear[ed] from the mainstream press within forty-eight hours", "bloggers kept researching the story" until, "[f]inally, the story broke back into the mainstream press."^[16]

Richard Scruggs

On November 29, 2007, The New York Times noted that Lott's brother-in-law, Richard Scruggs, was indicted on charges of offering a $40,000 bribe to a Mississippi state judge in a fee dispute. Scruggs represented Lott and Rep. Gene Taylor in settlements with State Farm Insurance company after the insurer refused to pay claims for the loss of their Mississippi homes in Hurricane Katrina. Lott and Taylor had pushed through federal legislation to investigate claims handling of State Farm and other insurers after Hurricane Katrina, a potential conflict of interest.^[17][18] On July 30, 2008, the Associated Press reported that during a deposition related to the Hurricane Katrina claims, Zach Scruggs, son of Richard Scruggs, was asked by State Farm Fire & Casulty Cos. attorney Jim Robie, "Has it been your custom and habit in prosecuting litigation to have Senator Lott contact and encourage witnesses to give false information?" Zach Scruggs responded, "I invoke my Fifth Amendment rights in response to that question." ^[19] On February 14, 2009, The New York Times noted in relation to an indictment of Judge Bobby DeLaughter for taking bribes from Scruggs that federal prosecutors have said that Lott was induced by Scruggs to offer DeLaughter a federal judgeship in order to gain the judge's favor.^[20]

Author

Lott wrote a memoir entitled Herding Cats: A Life in Politics. In the book, Lott spoke out on the infamous Strom Thurmond birthday party gaffe, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and about his feelings of betrayal toward the Tennessee senator, claiming "If Frist had not announced exactly when he did, as the fire was about to burn out, I would still be majority leader of the Senate today."^[21] He also described former Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota as trustworthy.^[22] He also reveals that President George W. Bush, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, and other GOP leaders played a major role in ending his career as Senate Republican Leader.^[23]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Senate's No. 2 Republican to resign by end of year". CNN.com. November 26, 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/26/lott.resign/index.html. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
2. ^ Peter Boyer, New Yorker, May 19, 2008.
3. ^ ^{a b} Trent Lott announces his resignation MSNBC.com
4. ^ Rupp, Leah (2007-12-31). "Barbour names Wicker to Senate seat". Clarion Ledger. http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071231/NEWS/71231008. Retrieved 2007-12-31. 
5. ^ Holt, Tim (April 30, 2006). "Ranting about rail". San Francisco Chronicle. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/30/ING4PIGEQC1.DTL. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
6. ^ Babington, Charles (November 16, 2006). "Lott Rejoins Senate Leadership". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111500533.html. Retrieved 2007-12-21. 
7. ^ Calabresi, Massimo (November 19, 2006). "The Revival of Trent Lott". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1561139,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-25. 
8. ^ http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002646810
9. ^ Radelat, Ana (January 8, 2008). "Lott joins heavy lawmaker-to-lobbyist trend". Clarion-Ledger. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/NEWS/801080363/1001/NEWS. 
10. ^ Mitchell, Alison (June 17, 1998). "Controversy Over Lott's Views of Homosexuals". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03EFDC133DF934A25755C0A96E958260. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
11. ^ Controversy Over Lott's Views of Homosexuals June 17, 1998, from The New York Times
12. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37288-2002Dec10
13. ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/levin/levin122002.asp
14. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37288-2002Dec10?language=printer
15. ^ Transcript of Lott interview on BET, December 13, 2002
16. ^ Lessig, Larry (2004). Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. ISBN 1594200068. 
17. ^ Treaster, Joseph (November 29, 2007). "Lawyer Battling for Katrina Payments Is Indicted". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/business/29bribes.html. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
18. ^ Koppelman, Alex (November 29, 2007). "Tell us again why you're retiring, Senator". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/11/29/lott/index.html. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
19. ^ Mohr, Holbrook (July 30, 2009). "Lawyer suggests Scruggs got witness help from Lott". SunHerald.com. 
20. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/us/14bribery.html?ref=us
21. ^ Lott, Herding Cats: A Life in Politics (2005), p. 273.
22. ^ Lott, Herding Cats: A Life In Politics (2005), p. 211.
23. ^ Lott, Herding Cats: A Life In Politics (2005), pp. 271–272.

References

• Trent Lott, Herding Cats: A Life in Politics (Regan Books: 2005) ISBN 0-06-059931-6

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Trent Lott

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• New York Times — Trent Lott News ongoing collection of news stories and commentary
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Trent Lott profile

Articles

• Lott Decried for Part of Salute to Thurmond, The Washington Post, Saturday, December 7, 2002; Page A06.
• Sen. Lott Fights to Save Post as Leader, The Washington Post, Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A01
• Lott Remarks on Thurmond Echoed 1980 Words, The Washington Post, Wednesday, December 11, 2002; Page A06
• Sen. Lott's New Spin The Washington Post, Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A24
• Talking Points Memo, a political weblog, has posted Lott's racially-inflected Fall 1984 interview with the Southern Partisan and discusses his long-standing association with a paleoconservative group, the Council of Conservative Citizens
• Rock Steady Candid commentary about his career in Interview with Perry Hicks for GulfCoastNews.com
• Joe Conason's Journal: Lott's involvement with the neo-Confederate movement, racists and extreme rightists goes way back, Salon.com, December 12, 2002.
• Bloggers Catch What Washington Post Missed, The Guardian (UK), Saturday, December 21, 2002.
• Katrina Weighs on Lott’s Decision-Making, Roll Call, September 15, 2005 (subscription required).
• Lott to run again for Senate, CNN, Wednesday, January 18, 2006.
• Harper's Magazine article - A Minor Injustice: Why Paul Minor?

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by William M. Colmer	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 5th congressional district 1973–1989	Succeeded by Larkin I. Smith
United States Senate
Preceded by John C. Stennis	United States Senator (Class 1) from Mississippi 1989–2007 Served alongside: Thad Cochran	Succeeded by Roger Wicker
Political offices
Preceded by Christopher Dodd Connecticut	Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee 2003–2007	Succeeded by Dianne Feinstein California
Party political offices
Preceded by Robert H. Michel Illinois	House Republican Whip 1981–1989	Succeeded by Dick Cheney Wyoming
Preceded by Bob Kasten Wisconsin	Vice-Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference 1993–1995	Succeeded by Connie Mack III Florida
Preceded by Alan K. Simpson Wyoming	Senate Republican Whip 1995–1996	Succeeded by Don Nickles Oklahoma
Preceded by Bob Dole Kansas	Senate Republican Leader June 12, 1996–December 20, 2002	Succeeded by Bill Frist Tennessee
Preceded by Mitch McConnell Kentucky	Senate Republican Whip January 4, 2007–December 18, 2007	Succeeded by Jon Kyl Arizona

v • d • e United States Senators from Mississippi Class 1 Leake • Holmes • Ellis • Reed • Ellis • Black • Trotter • T. Hickman Williams • Henderson • Speight • Davis • McRae • S. Adams • Davis • Ames • Pease • Bruce • George • Money • J. Williams • Stephens • Bilbo • Stennis • Lott • Wicker Class 2 T. Hill Williams • Reed • R. Adams • Poindexter • Walker • Chalmers • Foote • Brooke • Brown • Revels • Alcorn • Lamar • Walthall • McLaurin • Walthall • Sullivan • McLaurin • Gordon • Percy • Vardaman • Harrison • Eastland • Doxey • Eastland • Cochran

v • d • e United States Senate Majority Leaders Lodge • Curtis • Watson • Robinson • Barkley • White • Lucas • McFarland • Taft • Knowland • Johnson • Mansfield • Byrd • Baker • Dole • Byrd • Mitchell • Dole • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Frist • Reid

v • d • e United States Senate Minority Leaders Underwood • Robinson • McNary • Austin • McNary • White • Barkley • Wherry • Bridges • Johnson • Knowland • Dirksen • Scott • Baker • Byrd • Dole • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Frist • Daschle • Reid • McConnell

v • d • e Republican Party Leaders in the United States Senate Lodge • Curtis • Watson • McNary • Austin • McNary • White • Wherry • Bridges • Taft • Knowland • Dirksen • Scott • Baker • Dole • Lott • Frist • McConnell

v • d • e United States Senate Majority Whips Lewis • Curtis • Jones • Fess • Lewis • Minton • Hill • Wherry • Myers • Johnson • Saltonstall • Clements • Mansfield • Humphrey • Long • Kennedy • Byrd • Cranston • Stevens • Simpson • Cranston • Ford • Lott • Nickles • Reid • Nickles • Reid • McConnell • Durbin

v • d • e United States Senate Minority Whips Wadsworth • Curtis • Gerry • Sheppard • Hebert • Wherry • Lucas • Saltonstall • Clements • Saltonstall • Dirksen • Kuchel • Scott • Griffin • Stevens • Cranston • Simpson • Ford • Reid • Nickles • Reid • Nickles • Reid • Durbin • Lott • Kyl

v • d • e Minority Whips of the United States House of Representatives Underwood • Lloyd • Dwight • Burke • Hamilton • Oldfield • McDuffie • Bachmann • Englebright • Arends • McCormack • Arends • McCormack • Arends • Michel • Lott • Cheney • Gingrich • Bonior • Pelosi • Hoyer • Blunt • Cantor

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